Today I found out that being scolded at by me is not called “getting yelled at”, because I don’t raise my voice. It is called “getting Mathinaz-ized”, and it is scarier. As in, “Uh oh, she’s about to get Mathinaz-ized. Let’s watch.” Apparently I have an entire class of students that uses that phrase. According…

I like this piece, especially because of how stunningly optimistic he is. If you don’t feel like reading at all, this is the excerpt that really gets me (it’s clearly not the optimistic part though): Canada’s point is that the only way to fix our schools is not with a Superman or a super-theory. No,…

Yesterday I messed up. It was the first time so far this year that I’ve seen my kids miserable and unmotivated. They were falling asleep, wandering around the classroom, and needing serious prodding to get any work done. That was the story of my life last year, but this year has been so much better…

I wish you all could have seen me today. I went to school wearing navy blue shoes, bright red tights, a brown skirt, a blue and green striped shirt, a hot pink blouse open over it, and red and yellow earrings. There was absolutely nothing okay about my outfit and the kids were not too…

“Ms., I forgot my homework!” “Well, that’s going to make today’s classwork much more difficult. Did you at least do it?” “YES! I spent six hours on it!” “You spent six hours converting fractions to decimals?” “Yes! And it’s sitting on my coffee table and I can see it there. Ms., it makes my heart…

I’ve said this before, but I’m obsessed with Excel, data and numbers. (It’s a good thing I teach math.) This year, I’m trying to be better at keeping track of my students’ progress throughout the year, and this has started out with an enormous spreadsheet tracking their mastery of basic concepts from diagnostic tests I’ve…

Last year, I had a different type of trouble with one boy than with the rest of my students. He had decided that I hated him and spent months doing everything in his power to push me away to see what I would do. I think it’s standard for middle schoolers to test love by…

Tonight was Open House, for parents to come meet us and talk curriculum. This is another thing that is ten million times easier when it’s not my first year. Last year this time, all I could say to parents was basically, “Yep, well, we’re gonna learn lots of different types of math this year! If…

*vetenarian *doctor/FBI *police *photography *dentist *lawyer *mechanic *famous actor *get a scolership to play basketball *play for the WNBA and be a volunteer worker for children in need *doctor *behavior analsyisis *NFL *basketball player *videogame designer *scenery photographer *teacher or beautytion *football player *teacher *teacher *astronaut *teacher *a drift race *probation officer or medical lab…